The Acme Rises Part 2
by Kody Wright
Summary: The newly discovered ship is sent to see what became of the Atlantis team after losing contact. Jack is hand picked to be CO of the ship and SG-1 has been assigned to come with him. While onboard Jackie (OC) decides that Sam needs a love life and starts a quest to fix Sam up much to Sam's dismay. Jack is now dodging the diet police as Janet took away his cereal.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Note: this is part 2 to the story the Acme Rises. In the first part, Daniel went back through time and met Sam's maternal grandmother...Unbeknownst to Daniel, and he falls in love and decides to stay in the past. They have a daughter, (Sam's mother) and in 1953 the US government recruits Daniel and Sam's great grandfather to head a project after finding an alien space craft during WW2. Using light speed, Daniel and the crew of the ship arrive to modern time. This is a cross over with Atlantis as they use the newly found ship to head to the lost city._

**SGC**

It has been a week since Daniel had returned home with the ship and his irritable father-in-law and to the shocking discovery that he was now Sam's long missing Grandfather. Neither he nor Sam was very comfortable about the revelation. They loved each other like family but finding out they had direct connection was simply...Creepy.

Jack however, took great joy in the discovery for now he had something to pick on Daniel about that was even more irritating for Daniel. Jack's subtle remarks and the occasional drop of the word "Gramps" certainly did fill Jack's long boring day with jokes about poor Daniel.

Sam tried to simply ignore the revelation. She saw it as nothing more than a newly discovered genetic connection. Though, at times her decision was hard for her to adhere too as Jack went on a relentless spree of "Picking on Daniel."

Daniel's only relief came from Jackie. Though the woman had the mental and chronological age of ninety-one, she still looked half her age. Testing proved her aging process was slowed by the aliens who abducted her in 1953. She was subjected to some sort of experiment but exactly what they did to her remained a mystery. Thus, with Daniel aging ten years and Jackie slowly aging the couple looked around the same age in appearance.

Jackie would scold Jack for picking on Daniel. She, an old lady in reality, did not fear any repercussions and actually smacked Jack on the arm and told him to act like an adult or she would ground him.

Unfortunately, all Jackie's efforts to protect Daniel was torpedoed by her own father who, like Jack took great pleasure in Daniel's dismay. They seemed to almost gang up on him. Fred and Jack together was a force Daniel could simply not deal with. And for that matter, neither could Sam.

Thus, when the Brass announced the ship that Daniel arrived home on was being upgraded and retrofitted for launch on a quest to accompany the _Daedalus_ on its way to see what became of the lost team that was sent to Atlantis, both Sam and Daniel jumped at the chance. Teal'c decided to accompany them since he did not wish to remain alone on base.

Daniel was busy packing his bags in his office. There was no way he was about to stay on earth and be subject to more jokes from Jack and Fred. Jack stood in the doorway of the office and looked on has Daniel packed his things.

"Nearly done?" asked Jack.

"Almost," he nodded eager to leave.

Jack stepped inside; he decided to break the news to Daniel gently as he walked over to the table and gazed over the books. He tapped the table top.

"I got some news for ya," he stated.

"What?" he grumbled waiting for a virtual brick to be thrown at him.

Jack smiled and decided to break the good news first, "Jackie has agreed to help Sam on the ship," he cheered, "She will be coming with you, Sam and Teal'c. We hired her as an assistant engineer to Sam."

Daniel let out a sigh of relief, "That is good news."

"And," he paused in thought. Oh, here comes the bad news. How to put this delicately wondered Jack.

"What?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

He stated as soothing as possible, "Fred is the best pilot we ever had on a simulator and in real life...Did you know he fought the Red Baron in World War One?"

Daniel gritted his teeth, "Yes, I heard all about it for the last ten years."

"Well, he asked to be the lead pilot in the ships' fighter fleet."

Daniel squinted, "Not CO this time?"

Jack shook his head, "Nope, he wanted off the boat this time."

"Maybe he will get lost in space," muttered Daniel. "So, who did they con as CO of the ship this time?"

"Me," he admitted sheepishly.

"But what about the SGC?" asked Daniel.

"I have a friend who will fill in, his name is Landry," mentioned Jack.

Daniel glared at Jack, "So, you and Fred both are coming?"

"And Jackie," replied Jack in a perked up voice hoping Daniel would not be incredibly angry.

He threw his books down, "Great...Just great!"

Jack tried to deflect the blame, "You don't want her to come?"

Daniel shot him a look.

"Okay," admitted Jack, "we will take is easy on you. Beside, you wanna know what your wife did to me this morning?"

"What?" he asked.

"She slapped me," he whined. "She took away my cereal and gave me this gross healthy stuff." He pondered in thought, "I think Frasier was behind it, she said I needed to cut back on the sugar and fat."

Daniel smirked, "Oh, well...Janet knows who too sick after you."

Jack pouted, "She made me eat dry toast and egg whites. Frasier also said my cholesterol was too high. I couldn't even have bacon and eggs."

Daniel miffed, "Well, she did slap you. I suppose you could have arrested for slapping you."

"Are you crazy?" asked Jack wide-eyed. "Her father would kill me."

"She's ninety-one," added Daniel, "she probably figures she doesn't have much time left and will just do what she wants."

Jack scoffed, "Frasier said that woman is gonna live another fifty years at least. She has her father to protect her and she knows it. And, what would you do if I had arrested for slapping me?"

"Laugh," he stated.

"You wouldn't be pissed off?" he asked surprised.

Daniel shook his head, "No, if you need to run to the MP's because some ninety-one year old woman is slapping you...Then, you have gone really soft, Jack."

"Well," he admitted, "It was embarrassing. Can you tell her to leave me alone?"

"Can you leave me alone?" asked Daniel.

Jack nodded, "If you get her off my back I will never say anything again."

"What about your evil, twin...Fred?"

"I'll talk to him," agreed Jack.

"Then you have a deal," assured Daniel.

**Sam's Lab**

Jackie was now dressed in blue BDU's that matched Sam's and was busy helping her pack the equipment in the lab. For a ninety-one year old grandmother she certainly seemed very healthy. Her skin hardly had any wrinkles, her dark brown hair was only slightly gray and her brown eyes looked as bright as ever as they worked together.

Sam mentioned, "I cannot believe you got the gate going in 1943. How did you do that, Gram?"

She shrugged, "I don't remember."

Sam paused, "What?"

"It was seventy years ago, Sammy. I don't remember what I did," she explained.

"Your notes?" she winced.

"I destroyed all of them," she remarked. "Had too, I couldn't let the Brass start the program too early."

Sam pondered, "And now you don't remember?"

"I'm lucky if I remember what I ate for breakfast half the time, Sammy," she shrugged.

"Well, maybe we can sit down and recreate what you did on the ship," suggested Sam.

"No gravity," recalled Jackie.

"We have gravity now," she assured her. "We installed some Asgard tech."

"The little gray men?" asked Jackie.

"Yup," she nodded.

Janet Frasier, still in her lab coat, then entered Sam's lab. She greeted the pair.

"Jackie, Sam," she gave a nod.

Jackie grinned back and cheered, "I got Jack off _Fruit Loops_!"

"Oh, I heard," grinned Janet. "Good job...Thank you for that."

"_Fruit Loops_?" asked Sam.

"He needs to cut back on the sugar," informed Janet. "And he just volunteered to be the CO of the ship."

Sam sucked in a deep breath and bit her bottom lip.

"That should piss Daniel off," noted Jackie.

"And how," agreed Janet. "Anyways, I have been asked and have accepted the job as ships' doctor. I'll be going with you two."

Sam smiled, "I'm glad."

Jackie nodded, "Me too...You can keep my dad busy."

Janet asked, "How am I going to do that?"

She grinned, "He really likes you, Janet."

"Fred likes me?" she asked concerned. Fred's reputation of being a hard man to get along with preceded him.

Jackie nodded.

Janet pondered for a moment; she explained, "Though, Fred is kind of cute, I really don't think there is anything there."

Jackie explained, "My father is deathly afraid of woman. My mother died when I was six years old and he never even had a date. He concentrated on raising me and never allowed himself to fall in love ever again. He's only fifty years old. My parents were very young when they had me. I don't want to see him alone and picking on Daniel for the rest of his life. There doesn't have to be 'anything there.'" I just want him to start thinking about maybe going on with his life now. Can you help me with that?"

Janet pondered, "So, you help me straighten out General O'Neill's eating habits and I help you father get over his fear of women?"

She nodded.

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed.

Sam laughed to herself.

"What?" asked Janet.

"Nothing," she shook her head, "I'm just amazed at how conniving you two really are."

Jackie shrugged and looked at Janet, "We need to work on finding Sammy someone."

Janet grinned back in jest.

Sam's eyes grew wide and shook her head, "No you don't."

**Later - Jack's office**

The _Acme_ was a rust bucket of a vessel. It was smaller than the _Daedalus_, about the size of a modern aircraft carrier. It was cigar shaped and remarkably ugly in appearance. It housed a flight deck with very old fighter planes that looked like small shuttle crafts with an upturned nose. The men who originally found the vessel nicknamed the fighters "ducks" for the nose resembled a duck's bill. Pacifically, Donald Duck after running into a wall or tree.

In tradition, the symbol for the fighter squadrons on the old alien vessel was to be a cartoon duck, Jack opted for Daffy Duck over Donald Duck.

Fred looked at the new flight jacket he was given. It was an A-2 style leather jacket with the new insignia. He looked at the duck on the jacket's left breast and soured.

"Why is Donald's feathers not the right color? And where is his sailors outfit?" asked Fred.

Jack explained, "That's Daffy Duck...Not Donald."

Fred winced, "Who the hell is Daffy Duck? Donald's nephew or something?"

Jack shook his head, "Not Disney...Warner Brothers."

"So, you got us a symbol of a daffy duck?" asked Fred unenthused.

Jack shrugged, "I always liked Daffy Better than Donald."

Fred puckered in thought, "But his name is Daffy? Can't we have a mascot that's not...Daffy?"

Jack admitted, "It's rather fitting."

"Okay," he stated unsure. "So, everything is ready? No more rations?"

"Full kitchen is installed and gravity generators; running water for everyone can bath, and a fully stocked galley and fully stocked munitions," reported Jack.

Fred nodded and then put the jacket on; as he zipped it up he could help but ask, "Is Daniel pissed that I'm coming?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, but we have to take it easy on him."

"Why?" asked Fred.

"You're daughter has teamed up with Frasier...The power monger."

"What did they do?" wondered Fred.

"For starters, they put me on a diet," he complained. "Has Frasier said anything about your diet yet?"

Fred nodded, "She said my cholesterol...Whatever that is...Is too high. Something about eating low fat...Screw that!"

Jack conceded, "She's got you too. That means no eggs, bacon, butter, ice cream..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Fred holding up his hands. "What do you mean no eggs and bacon? I live on that stuff. What the hell am I supposed to eat?"

Jack gave a pitiful look and replied, "Bran."

"Bran?" asked Fred.

Jack solemnly nodded.

"Your power mongering doctor, who is coming with us, wants me to eat bran flakes for breakfast?" he asked unsure.

Jack looked even more pitiful and nodded.

Fred then added, "And she had teamed up with my daughter to make sure we eat that crap on the entire trip?"

Jack nodded and looked even more pitiful than before. The situation was simply too getting worse for the men.

"Hell no," he rebutted. "Not happening, no way, no how."

"Daniel and Carter will help us get real food behind their backs but we are gonna have to be extra nice to them," warned Jack.

Fred gave a sour look, "So, if I want to eat real food I have to be nice to...Daniel."

Jack nodded unenthused, "Yup." His daily dose of entertainment was about to be squashed by Janet Frasier of all people.

"Damn," he surrendered. "I'll be nice to Daniel but I better get my bacon and eggs."

"We will swing it," assured Jack who not only had to the new job of being the commanding officer of the ship but also now was in the crosshairs of a power hungry doctor who enlisted a veteran flyer to act as the diet police. Suddenly for Jack the trip to Atlantis may in fact not be as much fun as he assumed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Onboard The Acme**

They boarded the ugly little vessel. For an Ancient ship it certainly looked more antique than anything else. Inside it resembled a military submarine rather than a product of a highly advanced civilization. No smooth corridors and no large spacious rooms. Instead the little ship was more like earth ship from the Second World War

The corridors where lined with metal pipes and painted gray with yellow, red or green stripes to map out directions to facilities within the vessel. There were no elevators or lifts for personal but instead ladders and hatches. Bulkheads were positioned with seal tight doors in case of a ruptured hull. The only elevators were service elevators on the flight deck and they were much smaller than what the US navy was currently using. Compared to a modern air craft carrier, the _Acme_ looked like an outdated relic rather than a vessel capable of space travel.

The compartments or cabins for personnel were very small. Unlike the modern earth made spaceships, the little _Acmes'_ crew compartments were more like an old submarine. The crew compartments for enlisted men and woman each housed ten berths or beds for the men and women to sleep while the officers' compartments each housed three berths and three officers per compartment. The only compartment with a single bed was the commonly called the "captains' cabin" or in this case, the "commanding officers'" cabin. Jack was the only crewmember to have his own cabin while everyone else needed to share.

Since the _Acme_ lacked any accommodations for married couples, Daniel and Jackie were forced to sleep in different cabins. Jackie was assigned to a cabin with Sam and Janet and that suited her just fine. She actually liked the arrangement and looked forward to spending time with them.

Daniel was not so lucky; he was assigned to a cabin with Teal'c and Fred. It could not have gotten any worse for the man. Stuck on a vessel in deep space with Fred once more, except this time, Fred didn't have his own cabin and was now right under Daniel's nose…Literally.

Fred opted for the lower bunk and Daniel ended up in the middle between Fred and Teal'c who was took the top bunk. Three bunks bolted to a wall and nothing but air between Daniel and a man he truly wanted to strangle.

However, Fred had been behaving himself more now that he needed Daniel's help to skirt around Janet and his daughter's diet policing policy.

Daniel had placed his things in a small chest assigned to his middle bunk bed; he looked over at Fred who was unpacking some things of his own and he huffed, "I cannot believe I was stupid enough to go back on this ship," he complained.

Fred shrugged, "What were you gonna do, Daniel? Stay back by yourself?"

Daniel shook his head, "No, I would have gone on the _Daedalus_ and had my own room with my wife."

"What makes you think Jackie would have been on that ship? She was hired to help Sam on this ship," he rebutted. He looked up at the man, "You know, I cannot believe you are related to her."

"Why?" asked Daniel suspiciously.

"She's a sweet, kid," he remarked.

Daniel countered, "Which is why I cannot believe she is related to you, Fred."

He nodded, "Yup…Lucked out on that one."

Teal'c listened from his bunk and tried hard not to get involved in the situation; he merely made a face in confusion.

Teal'c added, "Your daughter is as well."

Fred asked, "You mean a sweet kid?"

"She shares many qualities with her granddaughter," noted Teal'c.

Fred nodded, "They get that from Jackie's mother."

Teal'c wondered, "Who was her mother?"

Fred recalled, "Her name was Kara. She was French, very beautiful...She had long black hair...I met her during the First World War. She was helping on the base. I was young and went to join the French fight the Germans. I was stupid and believed everything I read in the paper. I became a pilot, fought the Red Baron a few times and saw far too many men die. I came back to the states with Kara as my wife after the war and we had Jackie. Kara loved it; she used to tell me how smart Jackie was as a toddler and how she was ahead of most of the kids her age. Then, Kara got sick and died of pneumonia. I tried to get Jackie into a school for gifted kids but they wouldn't take her. So, I raised in the Army Air Corps...Boy she loved it too."

"She told me about that," added Daniel. "Apparently, you had her doing hand-to-hand combat at ten years old and smoking at fourteen."

Fred shrugged, "She had a good time." He exhaled, "Now, she has turned into a health-food Nazi and is out to get me."

"How so?" asked Daniel.

Fred rolled up his sleeve and showed him the nicotine patch, "I have to quit smoking...Frasier's orders. And that sneaky little doctor has recruited my daughter to help."

Daniel laughed, "Sneaky little doctor? Janet?"

"You keep an eye on that one," warned Fred, "she's sneaky."

Daniel laughed, "Fred O'Neal, fighter ace and world extraordinaire has met his match in a little doctor who is half his weight and a foot shorter."

Fred warned him, "Just remember, she has teamed up with your wife."

Daniel suddenly stopped laughing, as sudden realization came to mind, "I hope they don't plan on putting me on a diet too."

**The Girl's Cabin**

Jackie was given the lowest bunk out of fear she would hurt herself trying to climb on the top bunk due to her age even though Janet knew Jackie's health was that of a forty year old and not someone in her nineties. Janet took the middle bunk and Sam, being the tallest opted for the top bunk. Jackie was busy putting away something in her footlocker.

Janet spotted what looked like a bag of yarn; she curiously asked, "What is that for, Jackie?"

She replied, "Well, it's gonna be a long trip, so I brought something to do when I'm not busy."

Sam sighed, "Not more knitting?"

Jackie nodded, "I thought I would make some things."

Sam pleaded, "Please, no more hats and scarves, Gram. I still got plenty."

She grinned, "I was going to make some for Daniel and his friends. What color should I use for Teal'c?" she wondered.

Janet debated, "You are gonna make Teal'c a knitted hat and scarf?"

She nodded.

"Why?" she wondered.

She shrugged, "I thought he would like it. I could make him mittens too. Dad wants me to make him an afghan that is small enough for his cot."

Janet jested, "Yellow...Teal'c likes yellow."

Jackie soured, "I was thinking he would like something a bit more masculine than that."

Sam suggested, "I really wouldn't be making Teal'c knitted stuff like that, Gram. He's not from Earth and to be honest, I don't know if he would even like it."

Jackie disagreed, "I think he would appreciate it. How about a black and yellow pattern? It's kind of bright but still masculine."

Sam rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Gram." She secretly hoped she would not have time to make the items for when Jackie made mittens, hats and scarves not only did they match but she also had the mittens attached with a long string, like a child's set of mittens.

Janet grinned, "Make me an afghan...I always wanted one."

"Okay," agreed Jackie. She pulled out a pattern book and handed it to her, "Tell me what pattern. I will make it single cot size."

"Neat," noted Janet as she started to go through the book. "I like the rose pattern."

"Okay," agreed Jackie, "how about yellow and white? I got lots of yellow and white yarn, it was on sale."

"That would be gorgeous," agreed Janet.

"You want one too, Sammy?" asked Jackie.

"No, dad would just steal it like he did the last one you made me," she admitted.

"He took the last one?" she asked. "The Indian Head one?"

"Yup," she confirmed.

She miffed, "Stinker."

Janet laughed, "So, Jacob has been stealing your handiwork from Sam and then arguing with you over any tiny matter he can find?"

She nodded unenthused.

Janet agreed, "He is a stinker. He knew you never make one for him and stole it from Sam."

"I would have made him one," she confessed.

Janet asked, "Why? You two fight all the time."

She shrugged, "Because, that's what you do for someone...Even if they drive you crazy."

"Hmm," Janet pondered, "Somehow I don't see your father and Daniel making things for each other."

Jackie had to agree with a shake of her head, "Yeah, but I can see them stabbing each other with the knitting needles."

Sam sat on her bunk and added, "Now that...I can see."

"Sammy, I spoke to your brother, Mark," started Jackie.

Sam already didn't like the idea and feared what was coming next.

"He's got this friend who is a cop and thought you might be interested in him...His name is Pete," informed Jackie nonchalantly.

Though annoyed Sam entertained the idea; she asked, "What does he do?"

"He's a cop," she cheered. "I know you have a thing for men in uniform."

"Not interested," she rebutted.

Janet teased, "Don't we all have a thing for guys in uniform?"

"No," huffed Sam.

Janet decided to play the idea, "So, what is Pete like? Maybe I might be interested."

Jackie shrugged, "I have no idea...Mark has some weird friends though."

Janet asked, "And you were gonna fix her up with one?"

"Well, not at first but after seeing all Sam's weird friends I thought Mark's weird friends looked a bit more down to earth," she confessed.

Janet huffed, "Who are you calling weird?"

"It's okay," soothed Jackie, "I'm very comfortable around weird friends...I find being around Sam's weird friends more comfortable than being around Mark's."

Sam started to laugh, "I think she just got ya."

Janet huffed to Jackie, "Have you seen how weird your friends are?"

Jackie admitted, "Yeah, they were weird too but they are all dead now...So, you are my friend now. My new weird friends are weirder than my old friends."

Janet stood and gaped, "What?"

Jackie assured, "We're all weird but I like it."

Janet muttered, "Least you admit you are weird too."

She shrugged, "Well, come on...Can you see Daniel being married to someone who is...Normal?"

Janet pondered in thought and traded glanced with Sam who smirked.

"Nope," she admitted, "I can't."

"I rest my case," she stated. Then took out a couple of knitting needles and started to make a hat for Teal'c.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The trip to the city of Atlantis on the _Daedalus _would take nearly three months. The _Acme _was actually faster an could make the trip in hours using the advanced engines the Ancients had installed butsince it was determined the two ship would go together, the _Acme_ had to go at a much slower speed than the much larger battle cruiser it accompanied.

Regardless of speed the _Daedalus_ was the ship to be assigned too. It was newer, more spacious, had cool weapons and a much larger recreation area.

The _Acme _on the other hand had the advantage of speed and agility. The weapons systems were upgraded to the weapons systems of the _Daedalus_, a rail gun, some nuclear tipped missiles. The Ancient weapon system was also intact; small laser cannons located both after and forward of the vessel. The Ancients relied heavily on the fighter craft for defense of the vessel. Over all, the little _Acme_ was indeed the better fighting vessel but not the vessel to be on for a long trip.

One week had passed and the crew of the _Acme_ was adjusting to the cramped living conditions. Carter discovered that if she and Janet had been in college together, they would have made great dorm roommates…For they had fun. Jackie added to the mix in a special way. She seemed to be taking the "Grandma" title to a whole new level to Sam's estimation. It reminded her of how Jack would play dumb to get out of certain duties or trick the enemy into thinking they had advantage.

Her grandmother seemed to be playing "Grandma" to whole crew. She took on Teal'c first. She knitted the large Jaffa a black and yellow hat, a matching scarf and mittens attached with her famous child's string. She wrapped up the gifts in some plain paper and presented it to him during lunch…Right before the eyes of everyone in the mess hall.

Sam sat at the table with Janet, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel. The mess hall was full with enlisted and officers alike. The hall itself wasn't much to look at; it resembled the mess from a warship with gray paint and tables bolted to the floor with few luxuries.

They sat at the table eating and just chatting to pass the time. Boredom was the worst part of the trip. It was tediously boring with a lack of fresh sunlight and open air. No weather to even complain about as they silently made their way through space trying very hard to now go stir-crazy.

Jackie grinned as she entered the mess hall carrying the package. Sam spotted it in her hands and she dropped her head and muttered under her breath.

"Oh no," complained Sam.

Janet grinned upon spying her, "Oh, here she comes."

Daniel wondered what was going on. He spotted the package.

"Did she make something for me?" he wondered.

Janet smiled, "Not you…Teal'c."

Sam looked at Teal'c and pleaded, "Gram knitted you some things when she was bored. Please, act like you like them to entertain her. It would break her heart if you refused them."

Teal'c wondered what all the fuss was about and simply looked upon the small package as Jackie arrived at the table.

She sat down across from Teal'c and presented him the package, "I made you something in my spare time, T. Open it."

"You need not do such, JackieJackson" he informed curiously.

Jackie really didn't like the way Teal'c referred to her by her whole name and decided she wasn't going to have it; she smiled, "No, that's 'Gram' to you."

"I do not understand," he told her.

"I adopted you," she grinned.

"I do not understand," he replied.

"You are like family," she insisted. "I adopted Janet too…So…"

Janet nodded, "She did…She likes to be called 'Gram,' Teal'c. Call her Gram."

"Very well," he agreed and opened the package. He found a knitted hat, a scarf and a set of mittens with a long string connected the pair. He held up the items for inspection. He found the work very well done and became very appreciative. He smiled and gave a nod of approval.

"Try it on," insisted Jackie. "See if I got the size right."

Teal'c complained and placed on the hat. He looked good in the colors and then tried on a mitten but was rather confused about the string. He gave a contorted look.

"I do not understand why the gloves are attached by a string," he stated.

She explained, "That's so you don't lose them. You put the mitten through you coat sleeves and around your shoulders. You keep the mittens in your coat."

She took the item and demonstrated by placing it around her shoulders. She put the gloves on to demonstrate how it worked. "Then, when you take off your coat, you simply slip your hand out of the glove and leave the whole set in the coat so it's there when you go to put the coat back on."

"I understand," agreed Teal'c. He then retrieved the mittens from Jackie and placed them on himself. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and sat at the table wearing the items Jackie made him. "This shall do," he agreed.

"You like it?" asked Jackie.

"Indeed," he nodded.

Jack looked at her, "Where's mine?"

"You are on the list," she assured. "I'm gonna get myself some grub." She left the table to get her lunch.

Sam looked at Teal'c and informed, "What we usually do is cut the string off the mittens."

"Why?" he asked.

"So, you're not wearing child's mitten," she chuckled.

Jack shrugged, "Actually, I think it's a neat idea. That way you keep the mittens with the coat."

"It's kind of childish, sir," disagreed Sam.

"Hey, if it works," he shrugged. He complimented Teal'c, "She did good picking out those colors…Looks good, T."

"Indeed," he agreed. "How did she manufacture these items?"

Sam imitated the knitting motion, "She knitted them."

"With the string and two rods?" asked Teal'c.

"That's knitting," she nodded.

"She making me a blanket next, T," informed Janet. "She already started it, and it's gone be gorgeous."

Teal'c looked very closely at the knitting and nodded in approval, "She has excellent skills. You should be proud of your grandmother's work."

"I am," assured Sam. "It's just she tend to make things as if you were a kid."

Teal'c seemed very pleased with the items. He wore them proudly as he ate his lunch.

"You can take them off now, T," suggested Jack.

He shook his head, "the greatest gift is appreciation," he informed.

Sam sat at the table and wondered if perhaps she over reacted to her grandmother's tendency to act like a grandmother to everyone. Perhaps, she wasn't being very appreciative and now wondered if maybe it was she who had the problem for Teal'c sat across from her wearing the items that usually made her embarrassed.

Jackie returned to the table with her food. She sat next to Sam.

"You can take that stuff off, T," assured Jackie.

He gave a nod but did not remove the items.

"He will in time," assured Daniel.

Sam confessed, "I really do like the mittens you knitted me, Gram…I was just never thrilled about the string you would put on them."

She shrugged, "Then cut the string off," she instructed, "Jeez...You wouldn't wear them because of a stupid string?"

Sam feared Jackie would see that she had already cut the string off, so she would not wear the items in front of her grandmother; she meekly replied, "Okay."

**Later**

The _Acme_ was outfitted with a shooting range for the crew to keep up their skills. It was carefully installed in a room deep in the center of the belly of the ship. The room was lined with Plexiglas and thick steel to ensure no round would ever escape and a wall of sand bags was built as a backstop for the firing ranges.

Jackie, Sam and Janet were all invited to go practice with Fred later after lunch. All three women were proficient in firearms and were well acquainted with the standard equipment.

As the trio made their way down the hall towards the firing range they chatted much about nothing. Jackie rolled up her sleeve and was constantly scratching.

"I will never get used to this new material in the zoot-suits," she complained. "This stuff makes me itch."

Janet scolded, "Don't scratch…You probably have developed an allergy…I'll give you a prescription." She then laughed, "Zoot-suit? What's a zoot-suit?"

Sam replied for her, "It's what the women used to call work overalls during the war."

"Right," agreed Jackie.

"Zoot-suit," Janet shook her head. "I'll never get used to the crazy says your generation came up with. Hey, Sam…I barrowed your ipod and was listening to some music last night. I forgot to charge it this morning…Sorry."

"Not mine," disagreed Sam. "I have mine with me."

"That would be mine," miffed Jackie. "I lost it last night."

"Couldn't be yours," Janet disagreed. "I was listening to rock. Yours has all the old forties big band on it."

Jackie shook her head, "No, that's Sam's. She loves Glenn Miller more than I did."

"You're the one who got me into the old stuff," reminded Sam.

"Wait a minute," paused Janet. "Sam listens to all the oldies and Jackie…You like rock?"

She nodded, "I like it all…From every decade…Even the hippy stuff." She mentioned off hand, "Now that was a fun decade…And the drugs…"

Sam came to a halt and looked at her grandmother; she asked suspiciously, "You didn't do any of that?"

"Um," she puckered in thought as she debated what part of her past she should expose. "Nothing hard…Just tried a little pot…And some mushrooms. Mushrooms were cool."

Sam scoffed, "No wonder you can't remember anything!"

She disagreed, "I can't remember anything because I'm old."

Janet laughed, "No, your age has no effect on your health…Maybe you did a little too much during the Hippy days?"

Sam stood and rubbed her temples, "I cannot believe my own grandmother just admitted to me that she did illicit drugs."

"I used to smoke too," reminded Jackie.

"I should tell Fred on you," warned Sam disturbed.

Janet laughed, "Seriously think about that threat, Sam. Fred would not only not care; he would get her the drugs and join her in a party….It's you and Daniel who would care."

"She has a point," agreed Jackie. "Sammy…I love you dearly but sometimes you really need to lighten up."

"I do not," she disagreed. "And I'm fine."

Jackie suggested, "Jack is always inviting us to go fishing with him. Let's do that sometime…You might like fishing…You loved to sit at the pond behind the barn when you were little and pretend to catch fish…Remember that?"

Sam rebutted, "I remember a giant snapping turtle."

"Snappy," recalled Jackie.

"It was mean," insisted Sam.

She nodded, "It was like a hundred years old…Of course it was mean…You lived."

"Snappy?" asked Janet amused as they continued on their way to the range.

They entered the area and found Fred waiting for them at a table before a row of shooting booths. He had three cases before him and boxes of ammunition. They walked up.

Sam asked, "What are we shooting today, Fred?"

He grinned ever so sheepishly at the girls; he started, "Ladies…I took extra precautions and got permission for each of you to be armed with private pistols. I bought one for each of you…I wanted you three to have something that you could keep with you in case you needed it."

Jackie picked up a box of ammunition, "Fifty caliber, Dad? Are you serious?"

He explained, "We are heading into unknown territory and lost contact with an expedition team. Lord only knows what is out there. This is the largest caliber handgun I could get you three for personal use. When we get to Atlantis you keep it with you…I got you each bandolier holsters too."

The three women looked at one another somewhat concerned.

Fred opened the first case to reveal a revolver with a four inch barrel…A blued Smith and Wesson 500 model revolver with a rubber grip.

Jackie picked the weapon up and found it was very large for her hand; she cocked an eyebrow, "Seriously? How about something a bit smaller, like a thirty-two?"

Her father huffed, "Thirty-two? I might as well give you a twenty-five."

Jackie conceded, "I have a twenty-five Colt at home."

Sam added, "Oh, the little tiny chrome gun with pearl grips…I still get to inherit that, right? Don't give it to Mark."

Fred scoffed, "What the hell do you want a twenty-five for, Sammy? That's a chick gun."

Janet scoffed, "Newsflash, Fred…She's a chick."

"It's a useless caliber," he scoffed. "Now, this is the largest handgun on the market." He then opened the box of ammunition and handed Sam a round. "That will stop an elephant!"

Sam held the cartridge up before all eyes. Needless to say it was a huge cartridge that dwarfed the standard round the SGC carried. Her eyebrow lifted.

Jackie added, "Won't need to Teflon coat that."

Janet held a round in her hand, "Holy crap…This is what civilians get? It's huge!"

Jackie laughed, "Gee, Dad…This is the only time you will ever hear three women say that something you showed us was huge."

Janet broke out in a chuckle as Fred glared at them.

Sam turned red and blushed. Her grandmother just made a dirty joke right before her and to her great-grandfather to boot.

Fred looked at Sam and then at Jackie; he place his hand on his hips and scoffed at his daughter, "Why can't you be more like her?"

"More like, Sam?" asked Jackie.

He nodded, "Yup! She's the good one!"

Jackie admitted, "Hey, I working on breaking her of that habit."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Weeks Later**

The crews of both ships kept themselves busy as much as possible to fend off boredom. Members were allowed to bring some personal belongings on the trip for entertainment; most brought ipods or MP3 players for the devices were small and housed much music, pictures and some videos. But some also brought sporting items such as basketballs, volleyballs, skateboard, roller skates and such.

Jack decided to bring his bike…Nothing quite like seeing the ships' commander riding a bicycle down the corridors of the vessel. The man also discovered the bike made walking from area to area much faster.

He sparked an idea in Jackie who could roller skate. She found a pair of skates another crew member had brought and made a trade for one of her now famous Afghans. Many of the crew found themselves making such trades as they grew more and more bored.

Some members opted to keep up their skills on the shooting range and others trained in hand-to-hand combat in the make shift gym; another small room that was converted into a recreation area before leaving.

The _Acme_ had the luxury of converting some of the storage compartments into recreation and training areas because it traveled with the _Daedalus_ and the bigger ship could hold more than enough supplies. It was a luxury the first crew of the _Acme_ did not enjoy and made this trip for Daniel on the vessel much more tolerable despite Fred being under his nose.

Despite the facilities that the _Acme_ housed for recreation and training, boredom was still a major issue...Such an issue that it drove one Jaffa to want to acquire a new skill. Teal'c needed something more to do other than his usually routine. Yes, even a Jaffa had limits to what he could take in the situation.

Impressed by the items Jackie had knitted him he asked her to show him how she made the items. She took it one step further and not only showed him but began to teach him how to knit himself.

Daniel walked into his cabin and found Teal'c sitting up on his cot with two knitting needles and a ball of yarn. He paused in thought.

"Um," Daniel stared at him, "Teal'c…What are you doing?"

"I am knitting," he informed.

"Um," he scratched his head and asked, "Why?"

"To return the favor to your wife," he explained.

He pondered, "You are knitting something for Jackie as a favor because she made you the hat and stuff?"

He gave a nod, "Indeed."

"And what are you making her?" he wondered. Even for Daniel the sight of a large Jaffa with knitting needles and yard was indeed a sight to behold.

"A pot holder," he informed as he held up the small yellow square he had made. He was rather proud of the work for Teal'c discovered knitting was not an easy skill to learn and it took a number of attempts to make the simple square.

Daniel nodded, "Looks good," was all he would say. "And don't show that to Fred."

"Why not?" asked Teal'c for he already had shown Fred what he managed to make.

"He would tease you for it," warned Daniel.

"He did not," reported Teal'c.

Daniel asked, "You already showed him?"

"Indeed," he confirmed.

"And he didn't tease you for it?"

"He did not," he repeated, "the general reported his own attempt at the skill that he could not acquire."

Daniel paused, "Let me get this straight…Fred tried knitting once and couldn't do it?"

"Indeed," reported the Jaffa.

"When?" asked Daniel.

Teal'c recited the information, "It was during your First World War and he had been shot down and was in the infirmary recovering. The nurses taught the men to knit to pass the time. He could not acquire the skill."

"Oh," he nodded letting the information sink in, "during that war they didn't have much to do when the soldiers were recovering. I guess the nurses would bring in knitting needles and yarn to give them something to do."

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.

Daniel asked, "Is it difficult to learn?"

"Indeed," he admitted.

"Well, if I get really bored maybe I will try and see if it I can do it," he suggested.

"Your wife is an excellent teacher," stated Teal'c pleased.

"Um," Daniel puckered in thought, "I will have just you teach me…Jackie has enough to do and I'm not that interested in it. I just want to see how difficult it is to learn."

"Very well," agreed Teal'c.

**Meanwhile**

Sam was in the engineering department of the vessel. It was just as antiquated and rustic as the rest of the vessel. Large pipes lined the ceiling area, the walls were painted gray, red warning signs were also painted about by the SGC. A large counter lined one wall. Behind a bullhead door in the rear of the room was the engine itself.

Onboard the vessel some empty ZPM or Zed shells had been discovered. She was studying them for them seemed more than just empty but rather unique compared the Zed that they had discovered in the past. It was if the Zed had never been active, like nothing more than a shell waiting for completion. This discovery was very important for Sam for she had found a clue in the manufacturing process…Something the SGC had not been able to discover as of yet.

Jack rode his bike down to engineering and parked it outside the door; he walked inside and discovered Sam sitting on a stool, hovering over the empty shell still studying it.

"Any luck, Carter?" he asked.

She let out a sigh and looked up from her work, "No sir."

He walked up to the counter and looked over the equipment. The shell was inserted into a metal ring and connected to wires the fed into a computer.

"Be nice if we could figure out how they did it," he noted.

"Yup," she agreed very disgruntled. She was growing ever so tired of hitting her head against the preverbal wall over the issue.

"I'm sure you will figure it out," he assured.

"I'm not so sure," she admitted. "I thought perhaps Gram could help me figure it out but she seems to be having some memory issues."

"Oh?" asked Jack concerned.

"Well, she's ninety-one," she reminded. "She may not have aged physically but she age mentally. Even Daniel noticed it…He says she acts like a little old lady but has a young body."

"Maybe," conceded Jack, "or…"

"Or what?" she asked.

"She's faking it," he suggested, for Jack had his own suspicions about Jackie's little old lady routine.

"She's not faking it, sir…She's ninety-one," reminded Sam.

"She can be pretty sharp at times, Carter."

Sam rebutted, "That's how dementia works."

Jack smirked, "It's easy to fake something when everyone expects it of you."

She asked, "You really think she is faking it?"

He shrugged, "I know if I was her age and was aging at half the speed as everyone else…I would fake it."

"Why?" she asked.

"I could get away with it," he shrugged admittedly.

Sam countered, "She's not you, sir. She a little old lady in a young body….You really think she's pulling a fast one on us?"

"I would," he reminded.

**Meanwhile**

Jackie had been placed in charge of the coffee station that served the infirmary and engineering departments. In recent years she had grown more health conscious and caffeine was now dirty word. What was once her favorite pick-me-up had now become her worst enemy. And that made Jackie everyone else's enemy.

She noticed how much regular coffee the crew had consumed and was deeply concerned for caffeine was simply not good in large quantities. It was not only a stimulant but also a diuretic and Jackie decided that Janet, Sam and Daniel all drank too much coffee. But, Daniel's consumption was out of her control for his coffee station was taken care of by another crew member.

However, Sam and Janet she could control their consumption of caffeine but they seemed to resist the decafe coffee she made. She growing very tired of dumping a pot of decafe coffee every day while the two departments consumed ample amounts of regular.

Thus, Jackie sank to a new, yet old, low and switched the coffee. She simply made decafe in the pot for regular and then hide the evidence. It seemed to be working much to her estimation. She just got down refilling another pot of decafe in the regular coffee's place when Janet emerged with her coffee cup.

"Thank you," exclaimed Janet, "I need a cup."

Jackie had not gotten rid of the evidence just yet when Janet came to pour a cup and she spotted the package for decafe. She poured the cup and paused in thought.

"This is regular, right?" asked the caffeine addicted doctor.

Jackie quickly threw away the empty package and replied, "Sure."

Janet suddenly grew suspicious for she knew Jackie's behavior when she was avoiding something. She took a sip of the coffee plain and then took a disposable cup from the station and poured a small amount of decafe and compared them in a taste test.

Jackie tried to play it cool; she stood and looked as innocent as possible.

"These taste the same," noted Janet.

"Of course they do," replied Jackie. "It's coffee."

"I can tell the difference between decafe and regular," she informed. "These are both decafe."

Jackie nodded, "Busted."

Janet was about to scold her but she could not justify it for she knew she drank too much coffee. She bit her lip and pondered.

"Does Sam know?" she asked.

Jackie shook her head.

"Don't tell her," Janet instructed. "I will drink the decafe," she surrendered and then shot a look, "You're a sneaky old lady."

Jackie rebutted with a shrug, "Age and trickery beats youth and vigor every time."

Janet confessed, "It's hard for anyone to pull a fast one on me. You will have to teach me age and trickery."

"Of course," she agreed. "I did it because I care about you and Sam…You know that?"

Janet's anger melted away and she smiled, "I know…I guess I would do the same. Did you do it to Daniel too?"

She shook her head, "No access to the coffee he is drinking."

Janet assured, "We will have to work on that."

"Good," she grinned, "Now I was about to bring a cup to Sam."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Weeks had passed and they were nearing the halfway point when the ships both dropped out of hyper-drive. A message was sent via the gate system that the _Daedalus_ had picked up. It was an urgent message from SGC. They had received an urgent message from Atlantis…Well, more like a goodbye letter in reality. The city was under attack and was about to fall into enemy hands.

Dr. Weir had the surviving members of the expedition each send a message to loved ones and somehow managed to get enough power to send it through. She also sent a brief synopsis of what they faced and this mysterious new enemy called the Wreath. Some sort of vampire like enemy that was above humans on the Food chain.

After being briefed about the message Fred, Jack and the Commanding Officer of the _Daedalus_ all had a meeting. The three decided the _Acme _should go ahead and would arrive within hours and hopefully aid any survivors.

Jack decided to rearrange the crews and bring a military strike team on the _Acme_ along with the fighter pilots. All non-essential personnel on the _Acme_ were to be transferred to the _Daedalus_ and continue the journey in relative safety.

This decision meant Jackie would have to stay behind on the bigger ship while everyone she cared for went ahead to the city. She didn't like that idea to say the least.

Instead of packing she went to Jack's small office off the command deck. The command deck or bridge was forward the vessel with an open view of the surrounding space. The bridge was small; two seats were at the helm for a pilot and co-pilot. Behind the two helms' seat was a chair for the commanding officer to sit. In the rear of the room was the engineer's station and next to engineer was navigation. All weapons were at Jack's fingertips.

The office was even smaller, about the size of a walk-in closet. Jack sat at the desk and made his final plans.

Jackie walked into through the bulkhead door and stood before him, she stood and simply waited for him to look up and acknowledge she was there.

"Something I can help you with?" he asked her still looking down.

She flatly replied, "I'm staying."

"You're non-essential," he rebutted.

She shook her head, "Like hell I am."

He let out a sigh and put his pen down and looked up at her angry face; he tried to explain, "Jackie, you're ninety-one years old. You shouldn't even been on the ship in the first place."

"Where should I be?" she asked, "A nursing home?"

"Obviously not," he conceded. "But you're not needed for this mission. It's dangerous. What are you gonna do? Knit the enemy a sweater?"

She retorted, "I'm proficient with weapons, I know hand-to-hand combat, I grew up in the military, quite literally, and saw a world war. I got the gate going in 1943 with no outside help and you are gonna tell me I'm not needed!"

"You're not needed," replied Jack helplessly. He felt bad for having to make such a decision but knew if there was danger the non-essentials people onboard would be moved to safety if possible.

She stated her case, "In 1953 my father, my husband and one hundred men boarded this ship and disappeared. I was asked to stay behind even thought I was the top engineer for the ship at the time. The government told me they were dead. I lived the next sixty-five years thinking they were dead. Now, I finally got them back and you want me to stay behind again. But this time Sam; my only granddaughter and my best friend, is going with them. I'm not staying behind again."

"If you were essential I could justify you going," he exclaimed. "But Carter is the head engineer and you are just a part-time assistant."

"Sam will be going off this ship and into combat if she can…We both know that. Who will be in engineering then?" asked Jackie.

Jack shrugged, "Engineering essential."

"Which is me," she insisted.

"How so?" he asked.

"I know this ship like the back of my hand," she informed.

Jack tried to reason with her, "Jackie, if something happens to you…Do you know how devastated Daniel, Carter and Fred will be? They want you to stay safe."

"Do you know how devastated I will be if I lose them again?" she gulped. "You know what it is like to lose a child, Jack. You lost your son. I lost my daughter when Sam was just a teenager. Sam's father wasn't much use; he was in the service and stationed all over the place. Mark was in college and starting his own life. Sam barely graduated after that…She nearly flunked high school. She came and spent the next year with me…I became her mother and she became my daughter at that point. We helped each other through it. Sam almost didn't even go to college because of her mother's death. I bet she never told you that she nearly flunked."

"She didn't," he agreed. "But I need justification."

Jackie admitted, "I think I know how the Ancients made those ZPM's and I think I can replicate it," she informed.

"The one that Carter is working on?" asked Jack.

She nodded.

"Why didn't you tell Carter that?" he asked.

"Because I know she can figure it out on her own," she informed. "After her mother died I had to act as a tutor for her to get through it all. I know she can get it. I know I can figure it out but I wanted her to be able to say she did it!"

"Not sure I understand," he admitted.

Jackie exhaled, "I don't want this to turn into a tutoring session between me and her again. I don't want her to think it's like it was when we lost her mom."

"So," Jack puckered in thought, "You've been holding back because you want Carter to look smarter than you?" he wiggled in his seat, "Carter has this huge brain and has blown everyone out of the water since she came to the SGC. You said you couldn't even remember how you got the gate working in 43."

Jackie huffed, "I fake being stupid like you do…Come on, Jack. We both know what that is like….We either act cool and little dumb or we become nerds. I was just like Sam when I was younger. Always the good little solder who did everything I was supposed to do."

Jack wondered, "What happened?"

She gave him a look, "What do you mean? Come on, Jack. You and I both know that once you hit fifty you don't give a shit. Everyone thinks you're old and can't remember what day it is and roll their eyes when you start to reminisce. You act so cool, Jack but let's face it…You're a bigger nerd than Sam and Daniel combined."

Jack's eyes grew wide, "You promise never say that I am a bigger nerd than Daniel and Carter combined again and I will let you do anything you want."

"Deal," she stated.

He stated, "Now get to work on that ZPM. I'll tell Fred you are staying on to sub for Carter if she goes off the ship."

"Thank you," she agreed and gave a haphazard salute.

He warned her, "Don't you dare tell them that I fake being stupid."

"This will be our little secret," she confirmed and started to walk away.

He yelled, "I also want a full report of 43!"

"Yeah, when I get to it," she hollered back.

Jack sat back in his chair and puckered, "Damn, she owned me." He muttered, "I hate it when they are that sneaky and that old."

**Short Time Later**

Jackie walked into Sam's engineering lab and found Sam hovering over the empty shell. She was still trying to figure out the next step in the process. Jackie came up to her.

"I'm here to help," she informed.

"I got it, Gram," she replied. "Shouldn't you be going over to the _Daedalus_?"

"I got permission from Jack to stay," she informed.

Sam paused, "How did you do that?"

She made up a lie, "I told I'm an old woman who has lived a long live and you can use all the help you can get right now."

The excuse made sense to Sam and she simply believed it; she countered, "Don't count yourself out just yet, Gram. I know you got a lot of years left ahead of you."

"You're not mad I'm coming?" she asked.

Sam admitted, "Actually, I'm glad you are. I figure with the two of us working together maybe we can figure this out before we arrive."

"We only have hours," warned Jackie.

Sam agreed, "I know…But you never give yourself enough credit, Gram. You're one of the smartest people I know…Smarter than Rodney McKay…If we put our heads together I bet we can do this."

Jackie wrapped her arms around Sam and held her tight; she whispered, "You never give yourself enough credit either." Se then released the embrace and asked, "Who the hell is Rodney McKay?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Atlantis **

Dr. Weir had managed to evacuate most of the expedition to other worlds in hope of their survival. She, Major John Sheppard and Dr. Rodney McKay were the last to evacuate.

The city had no power and was now empty of the expedition team. The last year had been full of tragedies and losses. They lost so many people. The remaining supplies had been split between relocations of survivors on other worlds.

McKay had rigged the city to split apart and sink to prevent the enemy from gaining the technology. Sheppard was to pilot the shuttle craft they were to escape on upon the destruction of Atlantis.

Unfortunately, the enemy arrived sooner than expected and now Elizabeth Weir, Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay were in a race to destroy the city and hopefully escape alive.

John Sheppard decided he would give his friends the best chance at escaping if he took a shuttle craft and went to engage the Wrath as they dropped into orbit. It would be a fruitless gesture and he would surely die but his friends would have enough time to escape through the gate before the city was destroyed.

Liz Weir and Rodney McKay stood beside the puddle jumper's ramp as Sheppard laid out his plane.

Sheppard stood in full combat gear; he looked at two friends with an expression of goodbye, "I'll tackle them on in orbit. Rodney, after you get the charges set you and Liz then get to the gate and get away."

Dr. Weir gulped hard for she was very fond of major Sheppard. She tried not to cry but knew it was a suicide mission as well as McKay who shared the same disturbed look.

"Take care, John," she squeezed his hand.

McKay gulped, "See you later,' was all he could say. He just didn't have the will to say goodbye to the man after being through so much.

John cocked a grin, "We will meet up again…Somewhere…" he tailed off.

"Of course," chocked Rodney.

"Running out of time," Sheppard told them. He gave a nod and turned to enter the shuttle. He informed, "Get to the gate room, Liz. You and Rodney get off the city as soon as possible."

"We will," she assured chocking on her words.

The pair stood back and watched as the major disappeared into the shuttle. The rear ramp closed and the shuttle powered up. They started to make their way for the gate room below.

Rodney sucked in a breath, "If I can't get to the gate room in time leave without me," he instructed.

"I'll be waiting for you in the gate room," she assured.

They watched as the shuttle craft lifted up and then left the hangar.

"God speed, John," gulped Liz. She hoped against all odds that somehow a miracle would occur and somehow her friend would live the mission. She would gladly sacrifice the city and even her own life in exchange for his safe return. She held back the tears and went to the gate room to complete the final stage of the plan to destroy Atlantis.

John Sheppard piloted the puddle jumper into orbit just as the enemy battle cruisers had emerged. He found there were far more ships than he anticipated. Three big battle cruisers against one little puddle jumper. It was surely his last mission but the pilot was determined to make it his greatest. He started to engage the enemy.

Sheppard kept contact with Liz in the control room; he reported his progress to her as she reported their own.

"We got the charges set, John," she reported. "Soon as Dr. McKay arrives in the gate room I will detonate them from here."

"How much longer?" he asked not sure if he would last even a second more. The little puddle jumper was under heavy fire and the shield were nearly drained.

"Just a few minutes," she assured.

"I'll do my best," he told her. He grumbled to himself, "Damn, they are everywhere."

The puddle jumper took another hit and not only lost the shield but all power as well. He frantically tried to radio the control room.

"Liz," he hollered. "Get to the gate now!" He got no response. He looked up as the shuttle floated helplessly in high orbit. He spotted a huge battle cruiser coming right for him. He wasn't sure what the intention was but knew a collision would destroy the little vessel. He took a deep breath and sat helplessly waiting for the end.

Then before him something unusual happened, another vessel appeared out of nowhere. It was the _Acme_! Jack had brought the ship out of hyper-drive right between the puddle jumper and the huge battle cruiser.

On the control deck of the _Acme_, Fred piloted the helm of the vessel. Jack knew to put the best pilot on the ship at the helm to engage the enemy.

Jack sat in his seat and worked the weapons as Fred flew, "Bring her around, Fred," stated Jack as he fired the rail-guns at the Wreath battle cruiser.

Fred complied and reported, "There is a little tiny ship off our port side. I think it was under attack. It's just sitting there."

Jack pressed a button to open communications, "_Acme_ to Atlantis…Anyone home?" he asked.

Dr. Weir's voice cracked over the radio, "General O'Neill? Is that you?" she recognized his voice.

"Good to hear you, Dr. Weir. Um, is the shuttle one of yours?"

"That's Major Sheppard, he's trying to the hold off the attack, and I lost contact with him. Dr. McKay is getting ready to sink the city."

"Well, stop him," ordered Jack. He then looked at Fred, "Think you can get that shuttle onboard, Fred?"

He smirked, "With my eyes closed."

"Do it," he ordered. He then gave another order into the intercom, "All fighter squadrons prepare to launch."

Sheppard sat at the helm of the shuttle and witnessed as the smaller battle ship turned right towards him. He noticed the hangar doors were open but he had no idea who was on the ship or why they were coming for him.

He squinted as he looked closer at the ship; he was then able to see the name of the vessel painted on the side. With relief he realized it was in English and therefore an earth ship.

"The _Acme_?" he read aloud. "We have a ship named the '_Acme_?'" He started inspecting the vessel as it started to capture his shuttle. He winced, "It doesn't look like much. Kind of looks a piece of junk…kind of like….Something out of a Saturday morning cartoon," he noted. "Where did they find this thing?"

Soon he was in the hangar bay and the doors closed behind him. The shuttle was captured by the internal launching systems and then placed down on the hangar floor. Sheppard looked about the inside of the hangar through the glass of the shuttle. He spotted men and women pilots scrambling to the ducks. He studied the little fighter craft.

"And I thought the puddle jumper was bad," he muttered. "There is no way we will beat the Wreath with this thing," he assumed.

Sheppard lowered the ramp of the shuttle and discovered a familiar face; it was Colonel Carter. Jack had sent her to meet him on the hangar bay.

"Colonel," he smiled at her.

She grinned back, "Good to see you again, Major." She looked over the shuttle, "Nice ship."

"Same," he walked out of the back and looked about. He curiously asked, "Where did we get this from?"

"It's a long story," she informed. "The General wants to see you on the bridge."

"The General?" he asked.

"General O'Neill," she motioned for him to follow.

"General O'Neill," he nodded impressed. He asked, "Are those funny looking, mini-space-shuttles…They fighter craft?"

She nodded as they started to walk, "We call them 'ducks.' They came with the ship."

"And where did we find this?" he wondered.

"Pearl Harbor," she frankly replied.

He came to a halt, "What?"

"They found it during World War Two," she briefly explained, "They launched it in 1953 and the crew was stuck traveling at light speed, they arrived back home not long ago. It's an Ancient ship. One of the oldest we ever found. Daniel thinks it predates the gate system. Predates everything," she informed.

"Honestly, kind of looks like a piece of junk," he confessed.

She chuckled, "That's because it is…But it's the fastest piece of junk in the galaxy. We got here in hours. Come on," she motioned for him to hurry.

**Meanwhile**

Daniel and Teal'c had suited up for a ground assault. They went to the girls' cabin to ensure Jackie would be safe before they departed. They found Jackie alone in the cabin gathering some things.

Daniel asked, "Jackie, what are you doing?"

She held up three pistols that her father had given them prior; she explained, "I'm retrieving the side arms my father got us…Just in case. Sam is going down with you. Janet and I are staying on the ship. I need to make sure Sam gets this." She then placed one bandolier with holstered weapon across her shoulders.

Daniel asked, "What did Fred give you this time?"

She un-holstered the weapon and displayed it to them, "It's a fifty caliber revolver…One for Sam and one for Janet. Can you make sure they get them?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Daniel scoffed, "Fifty caliber? That looks like something out of a movie."

She nodded, "It's a _Dirty Harry_ gun but bigger." She then held up a cartridge, "See."

Teal'c's eyes lit up upon the sight; he reached for the pair, "I shall take them."

Jackie placed them in his arms, "Good luck down there."

Teal'c nodded in appreciation.

Daniel asked, "What do you need that huge gun for, Jackie? You're staying on the ship."

She shrugged, "Just in case."

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed.

"I have to get back to engineering and fishing what Sam and I were working on," she insisted.

Daniel asked, "You close?"

She shrugged, "Not sure yet," she quickly kissed his cheek before running back down the hall towards engineering.

Daniel noted, "For a ninety-one year old she certainly can move."

Teal'c added, "Her age is irrelevant for her lifespan has been greatly improved."

He nodded, "Kind of like the Jaffa."

"Indeed," he agreed.

The pair began their way to the bridge to meet up with Jack before deployment. Along the way they caught up to Sam in the hall with Major Sheppard just ahead.

"Sam," hollered Daniel.

She looked over her shoulder, "Daniel."

They paused to allow Daniel and Teal'c to catch up.

"Dr. Jackson," greeted the major.

"Major," he greeted back.

Teal'c held out a pistol for Sam, "This belongs to you."

Sam shook her head, "I'm in full gear….Where am I gonna put that thing? You take it, Teal'c."

It was music to a Jaffa's ears; he nodded graciously and placed the bandolier across his torso. He then placed the other going to the opposite side. Teal'c stood with two large pistols handing from each side of his torso and looked very pleased.

Sheppard informed, "The Wreath hard to kill, they got real thick skin…Standard issue doesn't cut it."

Teal'c handed him one of the cartridges from the pistol belt.

Sheppard's eyebrows rose, "That should do it."

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Fred's piloting skills were once again uncanny. He even impressed John Sheppard, who was now the second best pilot in the SGC. Within short time Fred, who essentially took command while flying the _Acme_ in battle, was giving Jack orders as to when to open fire.

Though, Jack was an accomplished pilot his skills were more special forces oriented while Fred was an ace in the cockpit. Within short time Fred and Jack had taken out two enemy battle cruisers and severely compromised the third.

Wreath fighter vessels dubbed "Darts" had been dispatched and were attempting to gain control of the city below. With two enemy ships out of commission and the third severely compromised Jack decided it was time to take the battle to the plant's surface.

Dr. Weir stood with Rodney McKay in the control room. They stayed in case the battle went bad and they needed to help survivors escape before sinking the city.

Fred had landed the vessel and docked it on the city pier. Ground combat teams disembarked, led by Colonel Carter and SG-1. They made their way into the control room in anticipation of the coming ground battle.

Dr. Weir greeted the new arrivals; she walked up to Sam with a look of relief on her face, "Colonel Carter," she acknowledged.

"Dr. Weir," she gave a nod.

"Dr. Jackson," she couldn't help but smile, "I'm glad you are here…Though, I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too," he admitted.

Rodney McKay was right behind Weir; he was happy to see Sam more than anyone else, "Sam!"

"Rodney," she smiled back trying to overlook his annoying habits that still hung in her memory. She then informed, "We are here to help keep the city in our hands."

Rodney rebuked, "How are we gonna do that with no power? We need shields to deflect the Wreath."

Carter assured them, "We can do it. We already took out two of their ships and crippled a third. This is going to be a ground assault."

Weir nodded in agreement, "Any word on John Sheppard? Did you get his shuttle?"

She grinned, "We did and he's currently onboard the ship."

"Glad to hear," she stated relived.

Rodney asked, "I wasn't aware we a ship called the _Acme_!"

"We recently acquired it," assured Sam.

**Meanwhile**

John Sheppard and Fred O'Neal walked down the corridors of the _Acme_ towards engineering to check on the progress with the ZPM. Fred took the time to fill John in on the background of the ship and himself.

"So, let get the straight," stated Sheppard, "You are from 1953; you fought the Red Baron in the First World War and was a general in the Second World War. You over saw a top secret projects, were the commander of this ship in 1953 and you accidentally traveled into the future bringing Dr. Jackson, who is married to your daughter…Home."

"Yup," he nodded. "And I'm Sammy's great-grandfather," he added.

Sheppard gave a confused look, "Sammy? You mean Colonel Carter?"

"Yup," he nodded. "She's the good one. My daughter is her maternal grandmother."

He chuckled, "And Dr. Jackson married into the family when he went back through time?"

Fred replied, "Yeah, unfortunately…But they had my granddaughter; Sammy's mom…So, I can't complain too much."

Sheppard came to a dead stop, "Wait a minute. If Dr. Jackson went through time to the Second World War, met Sam's grandmother and married her and had Sam's mother…Doesn't that make him…"

Fred smirked, "He hates being called 'Grandpa Daniel.'"

"Holy," he muttered. "How are they taking that?"

He shrugged, "They consider it a long lost genetic connection…Like cousins or some crap like that." he warned, "My daughter didn't come with us on the ship in 53. She stayed behind and aged while we traveled at light speed. She's actually ninety-one years old but back in 47, during the Roswell incident, she was abducted by a groups of rogue Ancients who did experiments on her. She hasn't aged much and can heal real fast."

Sheppard asked, "Roswell? I thought that was a weather balloon."

Fred shook his head, "Nope." They continued down to the engineering lab. They stepped inside and spotted Jackie working frantically over the ZPM.

Fred asked, "How's it coming?"

"I almost got it," she assured still working. "I just need a little more time," she stated as she looked up from her work. Her eyes landed on Sheppard. For a brief moment she captivated by the man's good looks. He was tall, handsome, ruggedly good looking and held a charming smile as he greeted her.

"I'm John Sheppard," he greeted, "Your father told a lot about you, Mrs. Jackson."

Jackie blinked, "He has?" Her mind went blank for a brief moment. Daniel? Daniel who? She held no recollection of the fact that she was even married for a moment in time.

Her father started bragging about John Sheppard, "Hey, this guy just tried a suicide mission to save his friends by taking on an enemy legion. He was the pilot in the shuttle we found. He's been running the cities security after they lost a whole bunch of commanding officers. Did I mention he's a pilot?" he then mentioned, "Oh good, I see you got your pistol. Why did you give Sam and Janet's to Teal'c?"

"Um," she seemed flustered. "I didn't. He was supposed to deliver them," She could help but ask, "Are you married, Major?"

"No," he shook his head. He found the question odd but didn't think much of it.

"That's good," she nodded. "I got to get back to work now."

Fred informed, "We're going off the ship to the city to help fend off these alien bastards. They need that to get power up and shield…The sooner the better."

She assured, "I'm working on it." Her eyes lingered on Sheppard.

Her father caught the look and grinned to himself. She seemed infatuated with the man's good looks. Boy would that ever piss off Daniel.

"We will get going," assured Fred leading John Sheppard away. His mind started to churn. John Sheppard was a man's man…A pilot, charming, brave and courageous. A man cut from the same cloth as he. And Jackie seemed a bit taken by his looks and demeanor. He started to scheme a plan to piss off Daniel. "What you think of my daughter?" he asked.

"I can't believe she's ninety-one," he admitted. "She looks good," he mentioned off hand in regards to age.

"She's also a pilot too," mentioned Fred.

He nodded, "Cool."

"Not married, huh?" asked Fred.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Could you see yourself getting married in the future?" he asked.

"I suppose," he replied not thinking much of the question. He was far more concerned with saving the city.

Fred started to scheme in his mind. John Sheppard was a far better candidate for his daughter's hand than Daniel. She obviously liked him too. In deep the recess of his mind he started to plan how to get rid of Daniel and get the son-in-law he always dreamed off.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Wraith foot solider called "Drones" had infiltrated the city and the ground assault had begun. The battle had gone from a space based battle of maneuvering ships and crafts to close quarter combat.

The SG teams found themselves in firefights in the halls of the city. Many men and women were shot, and some were killed but the Wraith tended to keep their victims alive for further intelligence gathering and for fodder.

SG-1 became separated and Teal'c found himself alone against the oncoming enemy. He found that his standard issued rifle was indeed useless against the thick skin of the drones and soon he ran out of ammunition. He fell back on his military issued side arm which seemed equally as useless. As a last resort he went for the two large caliber revolvers.

The drones were closing in on him and he was cornered. He brandished the weapon and leveled it at the head of the one of the drones. He fired a single shot.

The drone's head exploded like a melon hit with a shotgun shell. The other advancing drones stopped and paused for a moment as they realized the next head to explode could be anyone of theirs.

Teal'c cocked the hammer once more and took aim; he squeezed the trigger and let loose another round which hit the target dead on. A second drone was ripped apart by the heavy caliber ammunition. He then brandished the second weapons; one revolver in each hand Teal'c started firing rounds. The drones started dropping dead as the rounds met the targets. The Jaffa finally started advancing but found the revolver was much slower cycling than an automatic but far more accurate and much more powerful. He continued to turn the tables on the Wraith with his new found love of large caliber revolvers.

**Meanwhile**

Sam and Daniel were cornered themselves and running out of ammunition. Both thought they were prepared for this new enemy but found they certainly were not and the ammunition was indeed useless.

Daniel was nearly out of ammo and growing frustrated; he hollered out, "Almost out."

"Me too," Sam shouted back.

"Any ideas?" asked Daniel.

"Honestly," she confided, "no." Sam thought they would be more affective with the ammunition for it was strong enough to defeat the Gao'uld.

As the drone started closing in on Sam and Daniel, they heard a thunderous bang and witnessed a drone's head simply explode. It was disgusting to witness for green slim and blood splattered against the wall before them.

They looked past the drones and spotted Teal'c, looking very much like the _Terminator_, blasting away the enemy with two large revolvers.

Sam muttered, "I suppose I should have taken one of those."

Daniel asked, "Fred?"

She nodded.

He agreed, "I have to admit…He knows how to arm people."

After neutralizing the remaining drones Teal'c walked up to his teammates looking very pleased with himself.

Sam asked, "Like those pistols?"

"Indeed," he stated very pleased.

Daniel asked, "What the hell did Fred bring?"

Teal'c held up a cartridge before Daniel's eyes.

"Big gun," nodded Daniel.

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.

**Meanwhile**

Jackie had done it; she managed to finish the job she and Sam had been diligently working on. The ZPM now had power but she wasn't sure exactly how she had done it for she stopped taking notes as they ran out of time. But the ZPM was charged and ready to go.

She grabbed the device, cradled it in her arms and made her way off the ship and into the city. She ran as fast as she could but soon realized she had no idea where in the city the ZPM needed to be installed for power. She started running through the halls of the city looking for Sam.

Rodney McKay was running towards the ship upon finding out that Sam was working on a ZPM. He thought perhaps he could finish the work while Sam was tied up in combat when he came face-to-face with Jackie. He heard that "assistant" had been working on the ZPM. He spotted the ZPM in her arms.

"Are you Jackie?" he asked.

She nodded, "I need to find Sam!"

"Is the Zed working?" he asked pointing to the ZPM.

"Yes, but I don't know where to install it," she explained.

"I do," he explained and motioned for her to give him the ZPM.

"Who are you?" she wondered.

"Dr. Rodney McKay, Chief Engineer of Atlantis."

She handed him the ZPM, "Here ya go."

He took the ZPM and stared to run with it towards engineering. Jackie followed out of curiosity. Plus, she figured it was safer in numbers during a battle.

Rodney ran into the engineering room and started the procedures to install the ZPM.

She asked, "Can't you just put it in?"

"No," he shook his head, "This much power can overload the city. It has to be done one step at a time."

Jackie spotted Wraith drones coming around the corner outside in the hallway; she hollered, "Better hurry it up…Those ugly things are coming."

"Hold them off," hollered Rodney. He was stressed to say the least. He started the procedure to install the power source.

Jackie was a bit irritated by Rodney's snappiness. She stood in the doorway and brandished the pistol her father gave her. She needed to use both hands to control the weapon as she leveled it on a target, cocked the hammer and then pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped apart the target.

The sound made Rodney jump for it was much louder than the military issued weapons. He looked over and spotted the large caliber revolver that Jackie was using to defend him with. His mouth dropped.

"Where the hell did you get that?" he wondered.

"My father," she replied and let loose another round.

"Holy crap," he found the thunderous sound was nearly unbearable. He went back to work trying very hard to drown out the noise around him to complete the task at hand.

**Meanwhile**

Jack had the foresight to allow Fred to arm him with a second weapon for emergencies. Fred chose a carbine rifle for Jack but wanted it to be very powerful and thus Jack was given a 44 magnum lever action rifle for emergency backup.

Jack was now in the city's control room with Dr. Weir and nearly out of military issues ammunition. Jack fell back on the carbine that was slung over his back and brandished the weapon.

Liz Weir asked, "Down to lever action, sir? I didn't think the military issued them."

"They don't," assured Jack, "too damn slow and pain to reload." He then leveled the barrel on a drone and fired. The round ripped a hole in the middle of the drone's chest, it then collapsed before him.

Liz blinked, "Holy! How come we weren't issued that?"

"War doctrine," he explained.

"Which is?" she asked.

"Issue rounds that are designed to wound instead of kill. The theory is it will cause so many wounded the enemy will have to take men out of the fight to tend to the casualties."

Liz wondered, "How does that apply to an expedition team to another galaxy?"

He informed, "It doesn't!"

She huffed, "Somebody needs to re-write that doctrine to apply for off-world."

He nodded, "I know."

The power came back up.

"We have power," stated Liz as she went for the controls.

"Put up the shields," ordered jack.

"Already on it," she informed.

**Meanwhile**

The shield created a dome around the city preventing any more enemy drones from entering. Under Jack's orders, Major Sheppard had made his way to the chair in the belly of the city with Fred acting as a bodyguard. The plan required Sheppard to operate the city's defenses from the control chair below and removed the remaining Wraith ship in orbit.

"I'll take the chair, General…I need to you to cover me," stated Sheppard.

Fred nodded, "I got your back."

Fred stood at the door of the room and witnessed Sheppard work the chair. He was amazed to see just how far the technology of the Ancients had come since his only real experience with the Ancients was through the _Acme_. He watched as Sheppard took control of the city and unleashed a barrage of weapons systems to eliminate the remaining threat.

Sheppard seemed so cool, calm and collective. His mannerisms were professional and charming even in the heat of battle. Fred nodded as he looked on. This was the man for Jackie. This was the man who should have been his son-in-law. This was a man's man.

As the threat to the city subsided, the threat to Jackie and Daniel's marriage started to grow as Fred's man-crush blossomed. He wanted John Sheppard for his son-in-law. He wanted the major and not Daniel, who was always arguing with him. For certain Jackie would see the qualities in John Sheppard that he saw. He had no doubt she would see it as well.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**A Week Later**

The battle was now over, the Wraith defeated for now and the city intact. Team's swept the city for enemy combatants and neutralized all threats. Everything was now at peace in the Stargate world.

Major Sheppard got a promotion to lieutenant colonel after some badgering from Dr. Weir who had an unknown ally on her side, General Fred O'Neal of the _Acme_. Dr. Weir saw the promotion as a deserving reward while for Fred it was more of a strategic move to make the man more appealing to Jackie. It worked, she found John Sheppard very appealing but just not in the way Fred had hoped.

The crew of the _Acme _was given more comfortable rooms in the city for an extended stay. They would be in the city at least 3 more months waiting for the _Daedalus_ to catch up.

Jackie and Daniel, being both civilian contractors, could now have their place together. It was more an apartment which included a small kitchen and furniture. A balcony view overlooked the pier below. It was simply a beautiful place to live.

They had the day off and decided to sit on the balcony and enjoy the view. Jackie casually started to chat.

"What do you think of John Sheppard?" she wondered.

"Nice guy," nodded Daniel.

"I think Sam likes him," she mentioned.

He shrugged, "I don't see why she wouldn't."

"I was thinking of inviting Sam and John to dinner some night," she admitted.

Daniel puckered in thought, "Why?"

"You know…So, they can get to know each other."

Daniel gave a confused look, "What? They are already friends. What are you talking about?"

Jackie asked, "Do you really want Sam to be alone the rest of her life?"

"You're not thinking what I think you are thinking…Are you?" asked Daniel.

She presented her case, "They would be perfect together. They are the same rank now, so there are not any regulations to get in the way. They are about the same age. They look great together. They get along terrific and they are about the same height…And for a woman as tall as Sam…Finding a tall guy is important."

Daniel shot her a look, "What?"

"She needs a man in her life," insisted Jackie.

"I really don't think we should get involved," stated Daniel shaking his head.

She huffed, "She's your genetic granddaughter…How can you say that?"

"Sam really doesn't have very good luck with men and I really think we should not get involved," he insisted.

"What do you mean?" asked Jackie. "She hasn't had a guy since she went to college."

"She loved Martouf but he died," he informed.

"Who the hell was Martouf?" she asked.

"Tok'ra," he replied.

"Can't she at least date a human?" she spouted.

Daniel gave her a look, "That's the most racist thing I ever heard you say."

"I don't mean it that way," insisted Jackie. "It's just John Sheppard would be perfect for her. He kind of reminds me of Jack but much younger."

"Sheppard is nothing like Jack," rebutted Daniel.

She disagreed, "No, they are a lot alike. Matter of fact, of Jack was younger he would make a good candidate for Sam."

Daniel shook his head, "No."

"Sure he would," she disagreed.

"No," he remained steadfast. "I don't think we should get involved in Sam's love life. She's a grown woman and can make her own decisions."

"Fine," she pouted with no real intent to stay out of Sam's lack of a love life.

**Meanwhile**

Fred had been trying to find a way to get John Sheppard interested in his daughter. So far his efforts have been fruitless. He needed more information on the man. His best source for that information had to be someone that worked closely with Sheppard, someone who knew the man intimately.

His source turned out to be one Dr. Rodney McKay. Fred discovered the scientist had been working with the newly promoted colonel for the last year and was the best person to get such information from.

Rodney McKay always sat alone at lunch. He sometimes felt like an outcast. And what was worse for the man, a woman he adored, Samantha Carter was now Atlantis but was too busy to give him the time of day.

Fred walked over to the near empty table with his tray of food and sat down across from Rodney. McKay looked up in surprise.

"General," he stated surprised. Rodney heard all about Fred's reputation and his past. Even for Rodney McKay, Fred's the list of accomplishments was impressive.

Fred gave a nod, "McKay," he started to act nonchalant.

"Um," Rodney looked wide-eyed, "you are eating with me?"

He asked, "Why not?"

"Well, no one ever eats with me," he confessed.

"Why not?" he asked again.

He shrugged, "I don't know."

Fred asked, "Mind if I eat with you?"

"No," he shook his head. He wiggled in his seat, "So, you are Sam's great grandfather. You know, Sam and I go way back." Rodney tried to sound cool, to play it hip, hoping that maybe if he impressed Sam's relative he might have a shot at sparking a relationship.

"Really?" he asked. "You and Sammy?"

He nodded, "Well…You know…Brilliant minds flock together."

"Oh," he remarked. "So, you have been working with John Sheppard the last year. Tell me about him."

"Um," Rodney wasn't sure why he was being asked such a question but replied, "He's a good fighter."

"Something I don't know,' stated Fred. "He likes women, right?"

McKay nodded thinking off hand, "Usually tall blondes that are Ancients about to ascend."

"Tall blondes?" he miffed, "That's not good…How about petit brunettes?"

"He likes tall women," confirmed Rodney. "Usually alien in nature…Why?"

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked.

Rodney nodded, the whole conversation was sounding ever so cloak -n-dagger.

"Jackie and Daniel are having martial issues and I was thinking John Sheppard would kind of make a better match up for my daughter…I just don't want her to make the same mistake again…Know what I mean?"

"Wow," Rodney jerked his head back surprised, "I thought they seemed happy together."

"Looks can be deceiving," warned Fred.

"True," he agreed. "I was really shocked to find out Dr. Jackson is Sam's maternal grandfather…I mean…That's a shocker. I'm sure they didn't have anything but they were kind of close for a while there. You, know…Until she met me."

Fred baited the man, "You like my Sammy?"

"We were an item," Rodney lied for Sam never showed that much interest in him romantically.

Fred asked, "What happened?"

"You know…Work," Rodney shrugged. He then confessed, "And I'm not cool…I'm you know…Smart."

Fred gave a funny look, "You two broke up because of that?"

Rodney confessed, "Okay…We were never actually together but she did show some interest in me."

Fred grinned and nodded, "Ah-ha, you like my Sammy but she ditched ya, huh?"

"Yeah," his face went sour.

Fred grinned as his scheming mind churned, "Make ya a deal, McKay. I'll help you win Sammy's affections and you help me get Sheppard and Jackie together."

He would have balked at the idea but suddenly realized Fred was his best shot at ever gaining Carter's affections; he sucked in a breath and pushed all morals aside, "You got a deal."

**Later**

Jackie had been doing some detective work of her own on Sheppard and she too found her quest to get John Sheppard interested romantically in a specific target very frustrating. She heard Dr. McKay was the best source of information on Sheppard and thus went to find him at his place of work. She walked into Rodney's lab and found someone she wished wasn't there, Sam.

"Sam," she grinned. "What are you doing here?"

Sam was working with Rodney trying to duplicate what Jackie had done on the _Acme _to get the empty ZPM to charge. So far, they hit a wall and Jackie wasn't being much help.

She looked up annoyed, "I'm trying to figure out what you did to get the ZPM to charge."

McKay added, "I can't believe you got this going and didn't take any notes. What kind of scientist are you?"

She rebutted, "I'm not a scientist…I'm a pilot!"

Sam sensed the irritation in Jackie's voice; she tried to calm the situation, "I know that, Gram…But we really needed you take notes, especially with your memory issues lately."

Jackie rolled her eyes, it wasn't that she couldn't remember but rather she didn't pay attention to what she was doing and blindly tried a number of trials to find out what sequence worked. She figured it could not be hard to replicate.

"Sorry Gram," she assured, "I didn't mean it to come across like that."

Rodney knew if he wanted a shot at Sam's affections he needed Jackie's approval as well. He normally would have scolded any insubordinate for such incompetence but instead took a different direction.

"Mrs. Jackson…Why not come and show us what you did on the mock set up we have here?"

Sam had never heard Rodney speak so formal before. She fully expected to have to defend her grandmother's actions but instead he invited her to help. She couldn't help but be impressed. Perhaps, Rodney had more respect for the elderly than he did for people his own age.

Jackie walked up and looked at it; she sighed, "Things were getting to so tight towards the end that I just started trying different things looking for a reaction and didn't pay much attention to the sequence," she confessed. "There just wasn't time and I was starting to panic a bit, Sam. Sorry."

"It's okay, Gram." She soothed, "I understand. You're a ninety-one year old woman in reality and combat isn't something you are used too."

Rodney added, "We will just take it one step at a time," he swallowed his urge to tell Jackie that a ninety-one year old should not come in the first place.

"Okay," she then needed to get Sam away so she could speak to Rodney alone for a minute. She asked, "Can I get some coffee and something to eat? I tend to run hypoglycemic," she lied.

"Okay," Sam then suggested, "I'll get us some donuts and coffee, you show Rodney what you remember doing." She then left the room to get the treats hoping it would help Jackie remember.

As the pair started to work on the mock set up Jackie casually asked, "Tell me about John Sheppard, Mr. McKay."

Rodney saw his chance, he started, "Well, I've been his right-hand man the last year. He's a brilliant strategist…"

"What are his likes?" she wondered.

Rodney assumed that Jackie was interested in Sheppard for herself and decided to lay it on thick, "Loves Johnny Cash, sports…"

"He likes girls, right?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yes, he does," he then lied, "And he doesn't go around flirting with every beautiful alien female he finds either."

"I like Johnny Cash," she agreed. "What about the music from the big band area?"

John Sheppard never showed any interest in old time music but lied anyways, "Loves it."

"Glenn Miller?" she wondered knowing he was Sam's favorite artist.

"Him too," replied Rodney with no idea who Glenn Miller even was.

Jackie asked, "Does he love really good food or will any old thing work for him?" She hoped Sheppard wasn't picky for even though Jackie was an excellent chef Sam never got into the culinary arts as much.

Rodney wasn't sure if Sheppard preferred home cooking but knew he did not eat like he did and thus improvised figuring Jackie was from an area of home cooking and less fast food.

"Loves home cooking," he then added, "Of course I'm the food guru here though."

Jackie loved food as much as Rodney and was about to find her food-sole-mate.

"Chinese?" she wondered.

Rodney nodded, "Oh yeah…You know there is this place in DC that has been there forever that has the best Chinese anywhere."

Jackie asked, "The Wokery on 3rd?"

His eyes lit up, "You know it?"

"Daniel and I were regulars during the war," she admitted. "I used to take ferrying routes that would bring me into DC so I could see him before we got married. He would always get take out there."

Rodney added, "The pot stickers there are the best I ever ate."

"Up," she agreed.

Rodney confessed, "You know, I tend to run hypoglycemic too. No one ever believes me when tell them I need to eat."

"Oh, you get that lightheadedness too?" she asked.

"Yup," he agreed.

Sam walked back in with the coffee and treats; she asked, "How is it going?"

Rodney asked, "Did you know that your grandmother and I both love the same Chinese restaurant?"

Sam smiled rather annoyed for she realized the two biggest foodies in her life were now working with her on the most important project of her career.

"You don't say?" she smirked.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Fred, still on his quest to have the perfect son-in-law, decided to invite Sheppard for a round at the local bar…Only problem was the fact that there was no local bar on Atlantis. He couldn't believe it! How could there not be a bar in a military outpost? How could there not be a pub, a saloon or canteen for the boys to relax? Not to mention Dr. Weir had affectively put into place a smoking ban to boot. It was the outpost from hell as far as Fred was concerned. No smoking, no drinking and no pretty girls in dresses to dance with. Instead, he found a nearly empty city filled with geeks!

Fred made his way through the hallway; head hung low, hands shoved into his pockets as he grumbled to himself, "What the hell happened to the military? When did they become a bunch of health Nazis? My gawd, Daniel fits right in here. I thought he was an exception but nope…They made the top fighting force of the world into a bunch of pansy-ass mamas' boys."

He came across Liz Weir in the hall.

She greeted him, "General," she noticed he looked a bit down. "Can I help you with something?"

He stopped and looked her in the eyes; she seemed to bright-eyed and full of spirit thus he could not figure out why there wasn't any pub in the city.

"You could put a pub in here," he flatly told her.

She blinked for a minute; taken by the sudden sharp remark.

"Well," she searched for an answer, "putting a pub in was not a priority."

"Could use one…And some music and pretty girls for the boys to dance with."

She gritted her teeth and tried not to seem offended, "But we also have a number of women working her too, General."

He shrugged, "Have them dress up and dance with the boys."

She gave a funny look, "Are you suggesting we throw a party?" There was simply no way Fred could be as sexist as he sounded to her estimation.

He pondered, "A party would be nice. Put in a pub, get some nice music, and for Pete's sake, let a man have smoke!"

"You can smoke on the balcony," she assured. "Most don't smoke here….It's bad for you."

"Sugar is bad for you too but I don't see you banning candy," he huffed.

"But sugar isn't as bad as smoking," she rebutted.

"Wanna bet?" he asked. "You know about the studies right?"

She gave a funny look, "What studies?"

"There was an experiment done a few decades with two dogs…One dog was given nothing but water and the other dog was given water with sugar and oil. The dog on the sugar water died faster than the dog on the plan water. Wanna know why?"

Curious she asked, "Why?"

"Massive yeast imbalance," he informed.

"But it doesn't cause cancer…Smoking does," she informed.

"So does your diet pop," he huffed. "You know what Aspartame really is, right? A neuro-toxin. They were looking into making that a chemical weapon back in 53. Never thought I would see the day people willingly would drink it."

"Seriously?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Okay, if you insist, General we can set aside a place for a bar and allow smoking in providing there is adequate ventilation," she offered.

He agreed, "Better…And officer's club would also be nice."

"I will have to discuss that with Colonel Sheppard," she informed.

Fred suddenly got an idea; he found his in with Sheppard with the officer's club. He grinned.

"I'll speak to him about it," assured Fred.

She suggested, "You might want to make you officer's club open to the enlisted and civilians as well."

He gaped, "What's the use in an officer's club if everyone is in it?"

"It would be more welcomed if everyone was allowed to go," she assured. "This isn't just a military post."

He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Bleeding-heart-tree-hugging-hippy."

"Excuse me?" she asked unsure what he said.

He covered his remark while holding up his thumb, "Better believe it, Skippy." He then quickly slunk away, "I'll talk to Sheppard about the club…Thanks."

"Welcome," she replied rather confused. She crossed her arms and debated what he really asked, "Better believe it, Skippy?"

**Meanwhile**

Sam found herself working alone while Jackie and Rodney talked about food. They spoke about all sorts of food from cakes to granola bars. Much to Rodney's surprise, Jackie had many of the same qualities as Sam and one particular passion that Sam lacked…The passion to eat.

"You like cheesecake?" asked Jackie.

He nodded, "Who doesn't?"

"I don't," muttered Sam in the distance as she worked alone.

Jackie offered, "I have a killer recipe…I'll make us a cake…You gotta try it."

Rodney's eyes lit up, "You're gonna make me a cheesecake?"

She nodded.

"Nobody has ever done that for me," he confessed.

Rather annoyed Sam let out a deep sigh as she worked.

"Something wrong, Sammy?" asked Jackie.

"No," she countered, "I just love hearing about food all day."

"Sorry," replied Jackie. She then whispered, "You should have dinner with me and Daniel some night…I can actually cook…Unlike Sam."

Rodney whispered back, "I will…How about Sam comes to dinner too?"

She pondered the situation; she wanted Sheppard to come to dinner with Sam but ended up with Rodney instead. She had to find a way to turn the preverbal tables.

"Good idea, but I don't want Sam to think I'm trying to set her up on a date...She's funny about that…How about we have a few more over? Colonel Sheppard would make a good guest."

Rodney assumed Jackie favored Sheppard for herself and agreed with the plane; he added, "And Liz too."

"Great," she mentioned.

Sam looked over her shoulder and found Rodney and Jackie whispering in some sort of cahoots. She wasn't very fond of the shenanigans and assumed they were still talking about food.

"Could you two give the cheesecake a break and finish helping me?" she asked.

"Sure," nodded Rodney who now found an ally in Jackie. His quest to gain Sam's affections was now within reach. All he had to do was befriend Sam's family and they rest would be easy.

Jackie slunk over to the work, "Sorry." She pondered what was different and then it suddenly hit her. "Sam, when I got the ZPM to charge it was hooked up to the _Acme's_ interstellar engines. The engines were still hot from the jump and had jump residue lingering inside. We need to have it connected to a device that is capable of interstellar travel to charge it or there simply isn't enough force."

"The ship is docked and the engines off," rebutted Sam. "We would have to launch to try to recreate the sequence."

Rodney got an idea, "The gate." His face contorted, "Why didn't I think of that before?"

Sam added, "That would be a source we could use. The energy creating the wormhole would certainly be enough to activate the sequence in the ZPM."

Jackie cautioned, "But the _Acme_ used a buffer system to prevent overload…You could blow up the whole planet doing that."

Rodney added, "Well, technically we could collapse the wormhole in on itself and cause a black hole."

Sam suggested, "We simply copy the buffer system that is in the _Acme_ and configure it for the gate. We then dial the gate and as the event horizon establishes the force with start the sequence in the ZPM and the can literally use the gate to charge." She grinned, "I can't believe the answer has been under our nose all along."

"Usually is," stated Jackie.

"What do you mean, Gram?"

"The simplest answer is usually the correct one," she reminded.

Sam puckered and gave a nod in thought, "True."

Jackie looked at Rodney and started, "Now for more important issues; strawberry or cherry topped cheesecake?"

"Cherry," he replied.

Sam sighed rather annoyed.

**Later**

Sam and Rodney had worked diligently to copy a buffer system that would prevent a massive overload for their experiment…While Jackie was busy making Rodney's cheesecake.

Rodney reminded her of Sam's brother Mark and after getting past his snappiness and occasional remark of how brilliant he was the man did manage to settle into her circle of friends.

She still schemed to get Sam with John Sheppard but so far every effort was met with a roadblock. The man was either too busy, not interested in an activity or in Jackie's estimation…Avoiding her.

John Sheppard was avoiding her and her father as well. He heard rumors of Jackie liking him and Fred wanting to fix him up with her. John Sheppard understood that Sam's extended family was a train wreck waiting to happen and distance himself as much as possible.

As Rodney and Sam were preparing the gate for the ZPM experiment, Liz Weir stood in the control room overlooking the gate with Daniel beside her. He wanted to see if it could done as well and figured if anyone would find a way it would be Rodney and Sam.

Liz decided to find out if the rumors of Daniel's marriage being in trouble were true for he and Jackie seemed well together.

"Daniel," she kept her voice low, "I heard a rumor going around and wondered if you could clear it up."

"Which rumor is that?" he asked crossed, "the one that I am gay or the one that I am my own grandpa?"

She tried not to look too amused but did crack a smile at the joke; she replied, "That you and Jackie are getting a divorce."

"Not true," he informed.

"Good," she agreed, "I like her…She knitted me a scarf."

He nodded, "Actually, she doing that because she's bored…She not that much into knitting in reality."

Liz added, "I understand…I also heard a rumor involving her and John Sheppard."

He started to laugh, "She wants to fix him with Sam. I told her it was a bad idea. I heard Fred wants him for his new son-in-law. I guess I'm not passing muster." He kept his voice low, "The colonel has been targeted by both Jackie and her father. You might want to warn him to just stay away from them until they work it out of their system." he then confessed, "I feel sorry for the poor guy."

Liz pondered, "So, Jackie wants to fix Sam up with John and Fred wants to replace you with John? Is that right?"

He nodded and grinned.

Daniel added, "I think Fred recruited Rodney to help….But we all know Rodney carries a huge torch for Sam."

Liz nodded as she bit her lip, "This is a train wreck waiting to happen."

"And how," agreed Daniel. "Just sit back and enjoy the show," he miffed.

"I'm glad you are staying out of it," she confessed.

His eyes grew wide as he shook his head, "I'm not touching this mess with a ten foot pole."

She nodded in agreement, "Yup."

Sam looked up from below to the control room; she announced "We are ready to start"

Liz gave a nod, "Good! Radek…Dial the gate."

The scientist at the controls dialed the gate to earth, for the SGC wanted direct contact as the experiment was underway. They established the wormhole and contact with Walter and the temporary commanding officer, Hank Landry.

Landry's voice came over the speakers, "Atlantis, it's good to hear from you again. How's Jack?"

Weir reported, "Busy relaxing on the pier. It's good to hear your voice too, General. All readings are stable on this end."

"All readings stable here too," he reported back.

Sam watched the buffer equipment that was attached directly to the gate and Rodney controlled the ZPM itself. The two seemed to have everything under control.

Sam reported, "Everything is holding steady on this end."

Rodney found the same conclusions, "It's working!"

The two stood up from their crouched positions and walked before the gate and looked up to the control room.

Sam announced, "It's working!"

Rodney added proudly, "This is brilliant. Some of the best work I've ever done…I must say."

Dr. Zelenka reported his own readings, "Everything is holding." He then noticed something slightly odd, "Wait…There is something off."

Sam wondered, "What is it?" She was ready to disconnect the ZPM.

"Um," he looked about the controls. "Just a second…" He looked for more information.

Then something rather odd happened with the gate. The room pressure suddenly dropped and event horizon bubbled forward out of the confidents of the ring. It engulfed both Sam and Rodney.

Zelenka took emergency measures and then the gate shut down.

Daniel looked down at the empty floor, "Where are they?"

Zelenka frantically searched for an answer, "I don't know. The gate did something it never did before. It could take some time to figure out if they got to earth."

Weir ordered, "Disable the experiment and then dial earth."

**Earth**

Rodney and Sam were both thrown from the gate and landed hard on a cement floor. It was a painful landing that winded them both. Sam looked around trying to get her bearings. She wasn't sure where they had landed. They were surrounded by crates. Splintered piece of wood were scattered about the floor.

She looked over at Rodney, "You okay?"

He finally caught his breath, "I think so. That was a hard landing." He then started to look about and realized he was not where he thought he would be. "Where did all these crates come from?"

She slowly rose to her feet shaking off the accident; she looked about the area, "I'm not sure. I think we are in some sort of warehouse."

Rodney got up and complained, "Ouch…I think I twisted my arm."

"Anything broke?" she asked.

He moved his arm about, "I don't think so," he winced.

"Good," she nodded. She wondered, "Where are we?"

"I don't know," shrugged Rodney.

A guard came running around the corner upon hearing what sounded like an explosion. He was a young man about twenty years old, wore army green fatigues and a steal helmet, a pistol and held an M-1 Grande rifle in his hands. On his arm was a black band with two while letters that read "MP." He hollered at them.

"Don't move!" he leveled the rifle on them and looked wide-eyed at the gate hovering behind the two strangers. "Oh, not again!" he huffed.

Sam and Rodney both raised their hands high.

Rodney asked, "Again?"

The young MP started hollering out to his partner, "Get the General! We've got a problem."

Sam tried to sooth the boy for she could see he was scared, "We're not gonna hurt you. We're unarmed. My name is Samantha Carter and this is Rodney McKay. Please lower you rifle…We won't hurt you."

He rebutted, "Lady…Save it for General O'Neal. The less you tell me the better!"

She asked, "Fred O'Neal?"

The boy nodded, "He will want to talk to you."

Sam asked curiously, "Private, what is today date?"

He spouted, "March 3rd, 1944," he replied.

Rodney's mouth dropped, "You're kidding me?"

Sam informed Rodney, "We are six months after Daniel went back."

"You are kidding me," he stated again.

The young guard begged, "Please…Keep your mouths shut…I don't want to know…I just want to do my job…Do my time and go home."

Sam assured him, "It's top secret and we can only speak to General O'Neal about it."

The guard huffed, "Just shut up…Will ya? I don't have that type of clearance."

Rodney asked, "How can you not have clearance? This is a top secret warehouse."

The kid replied, "My job is to guard the crates not ask about them. I didn't volunteer for this….So, don't say anything…I want to go home and not end up serving the rest of my life. So, shut up."

Sam was taken by the guards admission, "You were drafted I take it?"

The kid balked, "Everyone is! Now shut up…I don't want to know anything that will give the Brass a reason to keep me."

The End

Continues in part 3


End file.
